Growing In The Local Church
Philippian 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Reasons to grow spiritually:
* Gives you authority over the enemy
* Makes you tough
* Allows you to discover your strengths and weaknesses
* Enables you to take on bigger battles
* The bigger the battles you succeed, the bigger the territory God gives you
* Spiritual growth is a life-long process
Cooperate with the process
There is a process that God has for you to fulfill your purpose, but you need to cooperate with God because He has placed a seed of success inside of you. It is a seed of greatness that can only grow if you are cooperating with the Holy Spirit and sometimes that process can be painful. So many people give up because of this and choose the easy way out. They want to be blessed but do not want to endure the painful process to maturity.
Remember, the Holy Spirit is your Helper and He will help you through your journey of growth. God will not do everything on His own. He will only do the things that you cannot do. God will do the impossible but He wants you to do the possible. The first thing that you can do is to make yourself available and then allow God to bless that which you have made available. God cannot bless nothing. Fall in love with your life’s purpose and your destiny. When you discover who you are in God, you will not have to be pushed to go to work, or to do those things that need to be done.
Personal growth
If we really believe in the coming move of God which will birth the church in power, we need to make sure that we have prepared ourselves for this anointing. Before the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church, they prepared by separating themselves from everyone and waited patiently in the Upper Room. These were men and women who followed Jesus and had walked away from their careers, businesses, family, and religious community, and waited by faith for the anointing that Jesus promised before He ascended into heaven.
There were so many who followed the ministry of Jesus, but there were only one hundred and twenty who prepared themselves for this visitation and they were the only ones who received God’s power and they took this anointing to the nations. In the same way, we need to set ourselves apart and prepare for the apostolic anointing which will transform the church entirely. The Parable of the Ten Virgins demonstrates this so vividly. There is a clear difference between the two groups of five virgins whom Jesus referred to in the New Testament. Their story is told in Matthew 25.
The essential difference was that one group of five had the oil of the anointing, and the other group did not. The church has a destiny which will be characterized by the apostolic anointing which will manifest a greater corporate demonstration of God’s power. Preaching, programs, and fellowship can never become a substitute for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Only through a personal, intimate relationship with God the Holy Spirit can we be empowered to bear fruit that will produce a Kingdom legacy.
1. Study
We must progress spiritually and grow to maturity. A child cannot grow physically without proper food. Good parents are concerned about proper nutrition. They want their children to eat what is good and not what is bad for them. Likewise, we cannot grow in our gifting without feeding on God's Word. Some Christians believe that they can do without the Bible and only need to wait on God for a prophetic word. But all ministry is based on God’s Word and cannot flourish without it.
The anointing works through the Word. Make sure you know the Word thoroughly in order to be more effective in your anointing. Study the anointing evident in the lives of God’s leaders and ministers in both the Old and New Testaments. Read and meditate on the Word of God continuously over and over again. Equip yourself by studying further through a Spirit-filled anointed Bible College.
Training and mentoring is a Biblical concept. In the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha had groups of prophets that looked to them for leadership. Jesus trained His disciples who in turn trained other leaders to do the work of the ministry. To function successfully in the anointing will take years of study, practice, and training to develop to its fullest potential. To be a good steward of the gifts God has given to us, will mean that we will have to invest time and effort in order to increase in the anointing.
Every believer who is sincere about growing in their calling and anointing should submit themselves to an equipping program. They should enroll in ministry training that covers courses that teach all the major themes related to a Spirit-filled ministry environment. Most growing churches today have training centers or church-based Bible schools which form part of their vision. If you really believe God wants to use you and you have a desire to be used by God, spend two to three years in a local Bible school and prepare yourself for ministry. Many people think that they only need the anointing in order to launch out in ministry, but find themselves hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with the challenges facing them.
Expand your knowledge at every opportunity by reading books and articles related to your gift. Make sure every doctrine you follow exalts the Lord Jesus and no one else. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you especially when you listen to teachings by others.
2. Choose the right church
Local church government is provided by God to ensure the best conditions possible for each individual to fulfill their ministry. Many Christians do not join a local church because they think the institution is foolish and unnecessary. However, nothing of spiritual value will be added to your life outside of the local church. Submitting to the leadership of a church activates the power of God for our individual destinies and purposes.
There is no substitute for attending church. Besides it being something that pleases God, it is necessary for the spiritual well-being of God’s children.
[
Hebrews 10:24-25 - And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
There is power that is released when God’s people gather together. God will do nothing in your life outside of the institution of His church. One way to put distance between you and the devil is to become part of a local church and to submit to the leadership for spiritual mentoring. Going to church is a visible, tangible expression of our love and worship toward God. It is where we can gather with other believers to honor Him with service of devotion. Receiving the preaching and teaching of the Word of God increases our faith and builds us up spiritually.
Gathering together also provides fellowship with other believers and is also a matter of obeying God's Word. God designed this system of accountability for the progress and protection of His flock. This cannot be possible unless God’s people are a part of an organized fellowship which has God-ordained leaders.
God places individuals in local churches so that they can submit to their leaders and learn from them. Spiritual development seldom takes place outside the institution of the church. Becoming skilled in the things of God is not a destination, but a journey of learning. Fundamental to growth is a commitment to a lifelong journey of learning.
Training brings you into contact with people who are on the same journey as you. You can encourage each other, share ideas, and use your gift of prophecy.
Mentoring involves a relationship in which one person helps develop and empower another.
Younger Christians need models of spiritual maturity. If they want to grow spiritually, they will profit immensely from being able to rub shoulders with people who have Godly character and who have built a lifestyle centered on serving the Lord. Having seasoned persons investing in your life will pay huge dividends in your development. It is important to take the initiative to build long-lasting relationships with those that can impart wisdom, knowledge, and experience into your life.
3. Build the right relationships
Relationships are important and the people we choose to surround ourselves with should be done with much prayer and consideration.
It is important to surround ourselves with people who are like-minded and who love the Lord and who encourage us to pursue and fulfill our calling.
The enemy will try his best to corrupt the good relationship we have with other brothers and sisters in the Lord. We need to do everything possible to preserve the righteous relationships we have, especially with those who build spiritual values into our lives. This includes the relationship with our church and spiritual leaders.
We need to look after our marriages and make sure that it is protected and maintained. We need to encourage our children so that they can grow in their relationship with the Lord. It is our responsibility to prepare the next generation to love the Lord and to be full of faith.
It is important to look after our children and to ensure that they are not caught up in the world. Our children will fulfill our own Godly purpose one day so be aware that the devil will try and corrupt them with temptation and sin.
Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
There are people that do not belong in our lives and we should consider putting distance between ourselves and them, especially if they are not Godly.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
4. Spend time in prayer
Develop an honest prayer life. Make sure you spend time praying in tongues. In order to grow in the anointing, you need to grow in intimacy with God. Without revelation knowledge, it is not possible to grow. God is all-knowing and will reveal His secrets to those who seek His presence and desire to learn to know Him more and more.
Daniel 11:32 - The people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.
Intimacy with God is an essential key to preparing ourselves in these last days. It is only as we draw closer and closer to Him each day that we will begin to hear His leading. That is why it is important to have a passion for prayer.
The more you spend time alone with God in prayer, the more sensitive you will be to the voice of God and to distinguish His voice from other voices that deceive and confuse. You will be able to recognize the distinctiveness of the voice of God when it comes. Spend time listening to God and develop your spiritual ear. Christians who do not spend time in prayer will not grow in their relationship with God. Make sure you have a secure place to pray where you can isolate yourself without any hindrances.
Continually pray for guidance and strength in the use of your spiritual gift and ask God to open your eyes to the needs of others that your gift might reveal. Pray specifically for the meetings and ask God to use you so that you can be a blessing to others. Every meeting has a spiritual theme and purpose that needs to be interpreted. Not every meeting is the same and if you are leading the service, pray and ask God to give you the spiritual key that will unlock God’s purposes for that particular program.
Spend time praying in tongues. Speaking in tongues is a lifestyle that should be practiced often. It should be present in your daily devotions and prayer. It is definitely not a once off experience but something that must be engaged in willfully and obediently every day. It should always form part of your daily prayer routine.
1 Corinthians 14:2 - But he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no-one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
The mysteries of God are hidden in the Spirit realm and all prophetic secrets are communicated through God’s Spirit to your spirit. Praying in tongues enhances this channel of communication. We are engaged in an invisible war with Satan and we need to be able to engage successfully in spiritual warfare and to discern the spiritual atmosphere. Believers who grow and excel in the anointing must understand spiritual warfare and know how to expose the demonic assignments of the devil. Intimacy with God becomes a way to engage in spiritual warfare. Whenever a person pursues intimacy they are engaging in spiritual warfare.
Prayer releases the power of God against the principalities and powers in the atmosphere as well as in the physical realm. A healthy prayer life destroys strongholds that demons may have in the lives and in the hearts of God’s people. Without prayer there can be no freedom from spiritual afflictions. Praying with the Spirit or in tongues is a powerful and effective defense against the plans and purposes of the enemy. Include a time of praise and worship during your prayer time.
5. Walk in the Spirit
God lives in the realm of the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we are able to translate ourselves from the natural environment into the environment of the Spirit which is the realm of God’s presence. A key to Christian growth is walking in the Spirit. This enables Christians to grow to maturity and to overcome the desires and temptations of the flesh. But you cannot walk in the Spirit without being baptized with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-18 - I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The key to a successful Christian life is walking and living in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Walking in the Spirit means walking in step with God’s plans and purposes and anyone who walk in the flesh walks out of step with God. The faithful Christian life is a life lived under the direction and by the power of the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit or to be led by the Spirit means to be filled continually with the Spirit of God, to listen to His voice, to discern His will, and to follow His guidance.
When believers walk in the Spirit, the flesh is treated as dead and they cannot be occupied at the same time with Christ and with sin. These two opposite behaviors are mutually exclusive, so that at all times the believer is either walking in the Spirit or functioning in fleshly desires, but never both at the same time. Walking in the Spirit is not simply a matter of passive surrender. The Spirit-led life is a life of conflict because it is in constant combat with the old ways of the flesh that continue to tempt and seduce the believer.
Holiness means being set apart from the normal. It also speaks of a purity that allows God to inhabit the temple within each believer. When a person is saved and filled with the Spirit of God their life belongs to God. In order for the power of God to flow in and through a person, they should walk in a way pleasing to the Lord, which includes living a life of holiness.
The outpouring of the Spirit is definitely not a once off experience but something that must be engaged in willfully and obediently every day. It should always form part of our daily prayer routine. We must continue to walk in the Spirit and to be filled continually with the Spirit. This lifestyle generates an increasing thirst for more and more of our innermost being to be filled with the Holy Spirit and we have an infinite capacity within us to accommodate as much of the Holy Spirit as we want.
God gave us His Spirit to help us, to empower us, and to enable us. We cannot be effective without God’s Spirit. Both the fruit and the gifts are essential and are manifestations of the indwelling Spirit. The Holy Spirit produces fruit and these are virtues that demonstrate Jesus' righteousness in the lives of His disciples. Spiritual growth is a life-long process of manifesting the acts of the flesh less and less and producing the fruit of the Spirit more and more. The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the lives of those who submit to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is only possible to change through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Any other attempts to effect change are very difficult and seldom long lasting.
2 Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
God places His power in our weak earthen vessels and it is that power that is released. Without this power, we are weak vessels. We cannot achieve effective ministry in the flesh. The evidence of God’s power within us is the fruit of the Spirit. That is totally opposite to the old nature. God’s power is able to change our old ways. Christians should change. We should display the nature and character of Jesus or else we are no different to the world. We cannot change in our own strength – only through God’s power within us. The Spirit-filled life is an obedient and abiding life and God’s people are encouraged to be continually filled with the Spirit in order to maintain their spiritual walk and growth.
6. Stay fresh
When God touches you with His Spirit heaven touches you and when heaven touches you, all the blessings of heaven touch you.
These blessings include healing and health, happy relationships, success, prosperity, ministry, and so much more. When heaven touches earth, things change everywhere and our living environment changes. God’s people live in a different environment to those in the world, even though we all live on earth. That is why we need to allow streams of fresh flowing waters from the throne of God to flow over us so that times of refreshing can come.
We are on a spiritual journey and the journey can get tough. We are exposed to pressure, opposition, obstacles, demonic strategies, and so many other negative things that can take us off course. We need the Spirit of God to refresh us. Many Christians are going to give up especially in the last days because they will begin to feel the heat. They are going give up in the last leg of the journey and they are going to throw in the towel and walk away from God and from their purpose.
Acts 3:19 - Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
[
These words were spoken by Peter and he was someone who really struggled with his walk with the Lord. He saw all the signs and wonders that Jesus performed but yet he wondered whether Jesus was the Christ. At the crucifixion, Peter denied Jesus because he never ever had a spiritual revelation of Jesus until his baptism in the Spirit at Pentecost when the Spirit of God came upon him and changed him. It is only the Spirit of God that can bring revelation, change, revival, and refreshing so that we can do extraordinary things for God.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit not only empowered Peter for supernatural ministry, but it also refreshed him and made his spiritual journey bearable. So many people give up because they try to do things in their own power. For Peter, the anointing represented new opportunities and a chance to start again. Peter experienced many low points in his life and welcomed the refreshing that the wind of the Spirit brought on him. He was touched by heaven and became a new person. He never was the same again. I believe that revival is coming, but the church is desperately in need of a refreshing before revival. I believe a sifting is coming before revival. Trials and temptations are going to come. Revival is coming and God wants us to stay refreshed in body, mind, and spirit.
Today there are too many Christians who have given up and walked away from their purpose. We need to open up a door of refreshing that comes into the house and prepares us for the revival fire. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit and we can get sick in anyone of those three areas. We can get sick in our bodies. Refreshing can come upon your body through the healing anointing. It is a refreshing that comes from the cross which can allow you to experience health and healing. We often speak about revival, but our bodies also need a revival.
We can also become sick in our minds. Old thinking patterns can return and torment us. But God can revive and refresh our minds with His Word so that we can be renewed in our thinking. There are many examples of God’s people who became sick in their spirits. What are the symptoms of you being sick in your spirit? It brings feelings of hopelessness and you stop caring. You find yourself at a point in your life when you no longer feel like praying and you feel disconnected from everything and everyone. You can have a sense of extreme loneliness even though there are people around you. This is an indication that you need a refreshing from heaven.
The devil knows that you have a supernatural purpose and that God has called you for something great and powerful. He will make sure that you become tired, that your attitude towards your destiny will change, and that you are harassed and tormented. But do not allow him to deceive you because it will bring death to your vision. You are the vehicle that God wants to use to touch other people and if that vehicle is broken, people will not receive what God wants for them.
7. Grow in the anointing
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Every born-again, Spirit-filled child of God has the anointing upon their life. However, we are responsible for keeping and increasing the level of the anointing upon our lives. That is why some walk in a greater anointing than others.
The Word teaches us to be continually filled with God’s Spirit to ensure a fresh outflow of the anointing.
The highest attainable level of God’s anointing is represented by the waters that flow from God’s throne to individuals, groups, or nations and wherever these waters go, they bring healing and life to the needy. We have rivers of living water flowing from our innermost being. Because we are the New Testament temples of the Holy Spirit, we are the source of God’s river.
From the time Samuel the prophet anointed David, he grew in the anointing, authority, and influence. He was anointed as king of Israel, but did not become king until twenty years later.
We need to understand this process. So many Christians become discouraged and walk away from God’s plan for their lives, because they want to fulfill their ministry immediately and minister in the full power of the anointing. That seldom happens. There is normally a slow process that God has for us to follow until He releases us into our full potential.
While you are growing in the things of God, be faithful in the small things as you learn to exercise your gift. That is what David did. He used his anointing to kill the lion and the bear. God first tests believers with small things before they are promoted. It is important to go beyond your initial empowerment and to develop a continuous relationship and intimacy with the Holy Spirit. We should develop in the anointing by degrees. Experiences in the anointing are progressive steps to higher levels.
There are principles to follow so that we can be ready for an increased anointing. It starts with the first measure of anointing God places on our lives. There must be testing and we must prove ourselves faithful. The increase and operation depends on us and not on God. It is our responsibility to grow into our anointing. Just as we grow from faith to faith, from glory to glory, and from grace to grace, so do we also grow in the anointing.
8. Grow in your gift
Every Christian is:
* Created for ministry
* Needed for ministry
* Called into ministry
* Empowered for ministry
* Gifted for ministry
God gives natural talents to all people. He also gives spiritual gifts to believers by His Holy Spirit and through His Son. Both talents and gifts can be used for the glory of God, but spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities given to believers for building up the church. God has given the gifts because the church cannot be equipped and built with natural talents. Each one of us must discover our spiritual gift.
Many churches do not have these gifts operating in their meetings because they do not give the Holy Spirit a chance to speak to the congregation. Spiritual gifts are special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to the followers of Jesus to build the body of Christ and to make the church effective in ministry.
Matthew 16:18 - And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Building the church is something in which the Lord Jesus is directly involved and which is an operation of Holy Spirit. The church was birthed on the day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In the church today, we find many people who are not baptized in the Holy Spirit and think that it is not necessary to be filled with the Spirit. But the Word of God teaches us that baptism in the Holy Spirit precedes ministry.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to empower ordinary believers for supernatural ability and to equip the church with spiritual gifts and ministries.
Acts 1:8 - But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
A spiritual gift is an expression of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers which empowers them to serve the body of Christ, the church. God has sovereignly and variously equipped each member to function in his or her unique place in the body. This function is not optional but expected and essential to the body as a whole. And while no one gift is universal, all within the body are to care for the others in every way possible. This is God's way of ministering to His church, not through a gifted pastor only, but through all the members gifted to serve one another. This is the only way a body can function.
The most significant gift Christ has given His church is the Holy Spirit. No gift is more important for Christ’s followers today. Paul was speaking of different ways of ministering, or using, these gifts. In other words, two people could have the same gift yet minister or use it differently. There is plenty of room for different ways of ministering the same gift, but it is the same Lord controlling them all. Therefore, they must conform to these guidelines that Paul was giving.
He mentioned that different people in the body of Christ have different positions or functions.
Spiritual gifts can be quenched through sin, neglect, and laziness. We need to be continually filled with God’s Spirit and cultivate a hunger for spiritual gifts. God wants us to stir up and grow into that which He has freely given to us so that we can maximize our effectiveness in the body of Christ. We have a responsibility to develop our spiritual gift and to grow in our anointing by means of learning, training, and practice for the benefit of the local church and other believers.
We need to invest our gifts wisely in order to reach our highest potential and fulfill our destiny and ministry calling.
1 Timothy 4:14-15 - Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
9. Do not waste your time
So many Christians are busy running everywhere but never really settle down. They live their lives trying so many things and if those things do not work out, they try something else. After a lifetime of fruitless searching, the best years of their lives have been wasted. They live their life by experiment instead of by purpose.
We are all called by God. It is therefore important to find out from God what that call is. Find out where God wants you to live. Find out who He wants you to marry. Find out what He wants you to spend the rest of your life doing. It takes time and effort to build something that lasts. It does not happen overnight. God gives us a few decades on earth and we should use that time producing fruit. We should use that time wisely and build equity for the Kingdom of God. If your life is drifting by aimlessly, something is wrong. Boredom is a good indication that something big is missing in your walk with God.
Depending on your call and ministry, God will place you under the authority of a pastor or a spiritual leader. Generally, God will not move you around. If you have moved to two or three churches in the past few years, there is something wrong. If you have moved out because of problems with the church leaders, you may need to be honest with yourself and find out why these problems persist. You will probably never fulfill your God-given purpose unless you settle down and allow God to prepare you for your future. God has not placed you on this earth to live and die. Every step you take should be directed towards your spiritual goal. Do not take one step unless it is going to produce something positive.
10. Deal with personal issues
a. Allow God to do the restoring and the renewing
We go through things and we need people to help us, but ultimately it is always going to be between you and God and He wants you to discuss your issues with Him. He wants you to be open and honest about your situation and He is one person you can speak to. When we do that, restoration can take place.
David went through a lot of personal struggles and he always let God know what he was going through. This mostly comes from the past and there are so many people who are tormented by guilt. But God wants us to have a new beginning. He does not want us to be stuck with baggage that has come from a place from where we have moved on.
Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me.
Why would David pray this prayer? It must have been because he lost his joy. He was going through emotional struggles and hurts and needed to be restored.
This is great prayer to pray in stressful times. Be refreshed and renewed and drink of the waters that flow from God’s throne.
b. Be patient
John 5:5 - Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty eight years.
Many of God’s children lose their place in His Kingdom because they become impatient.
This man waited for thirty eight long years and is a reflection on our future and destiny. Although things may take a long time to manifest in your life, be patient because it will come to pass. You might have been waiting for many years, but do not give up on your miracle.
The lame man did not leave that place. That speaks about being in the right place. This can also mean serving in a church or ministry. You could be in the same position in your church for years. Maybe some people have told you to leave and find another place of worship, but God always rewards patience and faithfulness. God is about to visit you and give you favor and use you for mighty things.
When Samuel anointed David King over Israel, it took twenty years for that prophecy to come to pass. Many people have given up on their purpose because they have not understood God’s timing. God is not in a hurry. He takes His time when it comes to fulfilling prophecies.
Just relax, be patient, and stay on fire for God. Do not try to help God in any way. He does not need your help. You will only mess things up for yourself and others.
Whatever He promised will come to pass in His time. In the meantime stay faithful to your church and your worship so that when the time comes you are not backslidden. When your time comes to pass, you need to be in relationship with God in order to fulfill your purpose.
c. Allow God to mold and make you
Isaiah 64:8 - But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
Let God remold you and reprogram you and rebuild the things that you have built in the flesh. This can be a painful process, but allow God to start rebuilding something beautiful through His Spirit.
d. Deal with your weaknesses
1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
We all have strengths and weaknesses and we need to deal with our weaknesses if we are to be used by God. As you start growing in the things of God and as you start dealing with issues, you will discover your strengths, but you will also discover your weaknesses.
You will never ever fulfill your destiny unless you deal with your weakest point. For example, you may be strong in the Word, strong in witnessing to others, strong in commitment to your local church, casting out demons, etc., but you must know and understand that the one thing that will limit you is your weakness. We all have weaknesses and we should be aware of those weaknesses, because that is the point where the devil causes us to fail and not our strong points.
Over the years, David grew in the anointing and performed supernatural things, eventually reigning as king over the whole of Israel. But he never dealt with his weakness, which was his love for other women, and it destroyed his reputation. If David had dealt with his weakness he would have fulfilled his potential. His weakness kept him back which indirectly caused him to be disqualified from building God’s temple.
Now God will still love you but you will not be able to put that full distance between you and the devil if you have not dealt with your weaknesses. The second aspect of salvation relates to born again believers maintaining their salvation by living a life of holiness and bearing good fruit.
Philippians 2:12 - Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
It is also very important for the children of God to be part of a local church. The objective in going to church is to build a relationship with God and others. The Christian life is not always an easy road. It is so easy to become discouraged. When believers separate themselves from other believers they become vulnerable and are an easy target for the devil. Never before have people been confronted with so many voices and so many choices. God speaks to His people as a whole and He speaks to them individually, guiding them into truth and reminding them what is right and warning them what is wrong. His is a voice that tells the truth when so many other voices cannot be trusted.
e. Repent
Sin and compromise will destroy your future with God. God wants all of you but will want you to give everything to Him willingly and obediently. A lukewarm carnal spirit has invaded the church and it is so easy to drop your guard and lower your standard.
On-going sin in a person’s life is an open invitation to demons. Yielding to sin is yielding to the devil. Repentance is a firm resolve in the Lord to forsake sin, to turn around, and to walk in the ways of God.
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness.
Essential to growing closer to God in faith, devotion, and love is to repent of those behaviors, desires, beliefs, and ideas that are sinful. Repentance involves more than merely turning away from sin. By repenting a person must also renounce everything that opposes God and all that He finds sinful. This includes renouncing Satan and his ways and renouncing personal sins.
Walk continually in the Spirit and do not walk out of step with God by walking in the flesh. Make wise choices and changes in your life and you will see how God will begin to bless you and use you for His plans and purposes.
Romans 10:15 - And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. We are imperfect vessels and have so many weaknesses. But God created each one of us special and unique. He has good plans for our lives. God’s hands were upon us when we were in our mother’s womb and He has never stopped forming us.
We are all different because we have different assignments. Do not try to be someone else because when God’s fingers shaped you in your mother’s womb, He formed you so that you could perform a unique function. But you need to know that the hands of God are still on your life and He has never stopped forming you.
Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Whatever God makes is beautiful and wonderful. God may take a long time but be patient and allow God to take that time in your life because He is perfecting that which concerns Him. Sometimes we believe that we have to work very hard in order to please God. But God knows that you are never going to come up to His standard on your own. If you will allow God to do a work in your life, you will not have to work so hard trying to please Him.
God has given the New Testament church anointed leaders that help Him to form Christ in each of us. He is still forming your mouth, your ears, your feet, etc., until Christ is fully formed in you. It is a process and it takes time.
God bless you as you position yourself for God’s plans and purposes for your life and for the nations.
